


The Tale of Fareeha

by citrusdrink, ofshadowsandstars



Category: Avatar (TV), Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Agni Kai, Airbending, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Bastion is a sky bison, Bloodbending, Cowboy Hats, Crushes, Drabble, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Eavesdropping, Edgy Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Established Relationship, Fareeha is the Avatar, Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff, Genji is not a cyborg, Jealousy, Light Angst, Lightning - Freeform, Mama Amari, Mild Language, Multi, Non-Linear Narrative, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Tea, Training, Vishkar - Freeform, Waterbending, Young Genji Shimada, Young Hanzo Shimada, Zenyatta is a human, and Ganymede is a winged lemur, and neither does fareeha, break-in, but he still scarred, genji got NO chill, mei is a cinnamon roll, no really its literally a hundred words, reinhardt is fareeha's dad, some headcanons, widow does not have blue skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-13 11:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9121135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusdrink/pseuds/citrusdrink, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofshadowsandstars/pseuds/ofshadowsandstars
Summary: A compilation of one-shots that follows the cast of Overwatch in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra.





	1. Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Fareeha struggles to learn waterbending.

“Again.”

 

“What?” Fareeha asked. The blob of water she was manipulating fell onto her head as her attention shifted, drenching the Avatar in the element. She yelped at the sudden cold, clutching her arms in a feeble attempt to relieve her skin of goosebumps. Satya stared at the shivering Avatar, unflinching.

“Do it again. Your form was incorrect.”

Fareeha furrowed her brow at her mentor. “W-well, which part of it?” she asked through chattering teeth. “I-I thought that I did it the way you showed me.”

Satya shooked her head. “If you had performed correctly, then I would have not said anything.”

She stood from her chair and walked over to her student. Positioning her body, Satya focused on the water from one of the courtyard’s fountains. Using her good arm in tune with her torso, Satya began to lift the water upwards. Fareeha marveled at her teacher. It certainly wasn’t the first time she had witnessed Satya bending with only her left arm, but it was always a fascinating sight for Fareeha. As Satya raised her hand, the water rose from its icy basin; forming into a blob. She then thinned the water into a stream and swirled it above her head.

Fareeha watched her movements closely and began to mimic them. Whenever Satya’s foot moves backward, leg bends forward, or hand twists inward, Fareeha did her best to copy. She didn’t realize Satya was done until she heard a scoff. Fareeha turned to look at the master waterbender.

“Again.” Satya said flatly.

Fareeha suppressed a groan. “What is it this time?” she questioned.

“You were replicating my movements.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?” Fareeha scratched the back of her head.

“Your focus was on my stance alone—you must concentrate on both the element and your body.”

Fareeha could feel her face getting hot in frustration. They had been practicing since that morning—in the freezing cold, no less! But her mother didn’t raise no quitter, and she just couldn’t say _Nah, someone else can be the Avatar. Can I go home now? I’m done_. This was an assignment for life.

 

So, after taking in a deep breath, Fareeha readied herself. She lifted another blob of water from the same fountain Satya drew hers from. The young Avatar held the mass above her head, and moved her body the same way her mentor did. Back, and forth. Up, and down. Push, and pull. Like the moon and the tide, just as Satya had explained countless times before. She ended her routine by moving the water in front of her, then freezing it. As she applied pressure to the ice, it exploded into thousands of tiny shards. She immediately turned to her teacher for approval, but instead was met with that same unimpressed expression. Fareeha felt that she was about to completely lose control when Satya said, “The theatrics at the end were unnecessary.”

Fareeha felt herself slumping to the ground. _Is Satya going to make me do that all over?_ , she thought to herself. _I thought she would like that bit at the end. I did pretty good, why didn’t she like it? I swear if I have to do that damn routine one more time I’m going to—_

“But it was a vast improvement from your previous attempts, Avatar Fareeha.”

Fareeha didn’t even realize she was holding her breath. A part of her felt like crying, but the rest of her felt like eating at every restaurant that had a lunch special. Satya must have also been ready to call it a day, as she said, “I will see you again in two days,” before quickly excusing herself. Fareeha wasted no time in making her way into town.

\---

Satya saw her with that blonde woman again.

 

She had known the good doctor well before the arrival of the new Avatar, but their relationship was solely based on polite pleasantries.

 

Now, she can barely stand the sight of Angela.

Satya supposed she only had herself to blame. After all, on Avatar Fareeha’s first day of waterbending training, Satya did cut her with a flurry of ice shards. _If she had been prepared at all, she would have known to adapt to her current situation_ , Satya tried to convince herself. Even so, she didn’t ease up in her teaching—in fact, she had gotten stricter on the Avatar. Longer training hours. Less breaks. More practice, there’s always time for more practice. You can last for a little while longer, don’t give up now, Satya, or—

She saw them come out from Angela’s office.

Immediately, Satya ducked behind a pillar. Her mind told her this was wrong—Fareeha had a right to her privacy, and to get their personal lives mixed up would be a dire mistake.

 

But that didn’t stop her from eavesdropping.

 

“Really, please accept this payment, Doctor. You’ve always taken such good care of me.” Satya heard Fareeha’s caring voice say. She saw Angela wave Fareeha off.

“Fareeha, it is an honor to care for the Avatar. That is payment enough for me.”

Despite Angela’s insistence, Fareeha pressed the satchel into her hands. The hands that had no business being in such an intimate position as they were.

Angela sighed audibly, but smiled at Fareeha nonetheless. “If it will make you happy, Fareeha.”

What is she doing addressing the Avatar in such an informal manner? As a professional herself, Angela ought to know better. _Unless their relationship is one that you will never hope to have_ , Satya heard a cruel, dark voice whisper. _You are always so hard on the Avatar—it’s no wonder she seeks refuge in the one person who cares for her._

 

_But I care for Avatar Fareeha as well!_ , Satya argued with herself.

_But not in that way,_ the voice countered. _You will never be able to care for her like Angela._

 

It was all too much for Satya, too much. She had to leave before she did something she regretted. What was she even doing here anyways? She had other matters to attend to. Yes, her superiors were no doubt waiting on her next business report. Night was approaching, and there was still much left to be done…

Fareeha watched her mentor scurry away from the plaza. She briefly wondered what exactly Satya was doing there, and even considered inviting her to dinner. However, Fareeha quickly shook that thought away. Satya probably had better things to do than hang out with her outside of their lessons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of this fic! More chapters are in the works, so stay tuned~


	2. Ganymede

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Fareeha, Jesse, and Genji make an unexpected friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not written by me, but my friend @girlofshadowsandstars! She'll be contributing some pieces to the series, but the author of each story will be specified in the chapter notes.

“Jesse, no,” Fareeha said firmly. She was standing over him, glaring at his seated form as he played with a fluffy creature with exaggeratedly large eyes and ears.

He ignored her and continued playing with the creature. “C’mon, Pharah. It’s so cute!”

“Cute isn’t going to help me learn airbending.”

The creature cooed as Jesse rubbed it between the ears. “I thought all bendin’ came from fuzzy critters like this ‘un.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes. “Earthbenders learned from badgermoles and airbenders from sky bison, which are ‘fuzzy’, as you say, but much larger. In the case of firebenders, however, I have it in good faith that dragons aren’t particularly furry.”

Jesse arched an eyebrow mischievously. “And how would you know that?”

“Another word for dragon is fire lizard-”

“That’s two words.”

“ _Shut up_. And, like I was saying before you interrupted: have you ever seen a naturally furred lizard?”

“I don’t believe I have,” he conceded. “What about waterbenders? Where did they learn that from?”

“I know you know what it is. You just want me to say it.”

“Humor me.”

“No.”

“Pharah…” He gave her big, pleading eyes. They weren’t adorable in any way, but Fareeha’s options were to humor him or never hear the end of his pleading.

Fareeha rolled her eyes and gave in. “The moon. Happy?”

Jesse burst into heavy, loud, uncontrollable laughter. The creature flew backwards a few feet in surprise when it heard the noise. Despite being familiar with the story of where waterbending came from, Jesse never ceased to find it funny that people learned to bend from the moon.

“I don’t know how you still find this humorous,” Fareeha grumbled.

“My brother would say it was the product of a simple mind,” Genji said. He had not moved from his spot atop his master’s sky bison’s head for several hours, and had not spoken for even longer. Both Fareeha and Jesse looked up at the sound of his voice.

“And what do you think?” Jesse asked, flopping onto his back and stretching out his arms. The creature took this as an invitation to come and hop on his chest.

Genji made no comment. He remained meditating as if he had never spoken. Fareeha glanced at him. Despite the ugly scars crisscrossing his face (as well as the rest of his body, according to Zenyatta), there was a certain beauty in the calm about him.

“I believe he agrees,” Fareeha said to Jesse.

“You don’t know that,” Jesse said, giggling as the creature’s ears tickled his chin.

“I know that you look like an idiot,” she shot back.

Jesse sat up. As he did, the creature scrambled easily onto his shoulder. He stood up and brushed the dust off the back of his trousers. When he turned to grab his hat, he found that it was missing. He checked the surrounding area in a rising panic. Not on the ground, not on the rock, not on the grass. Jesse continued to look around desperately for his hat for several more minutes. The creature, annoyed by the erratic movement, decided it was annoyed and flew off. After circling overhead a few times, it settled atop one of the sky bison’s horns.

 _It was just here,_ Jesse thought as he parted bushes, trying to fathom where his hat could have wandered off to. _It couldn’t have gone far-_

Fareeha was laughing. Another dry chuckling sound accompanied her laugh - Genji, presumably. Jesse whirled around quickly, kicking up dust around his ankles.

Genji was still sitting cross-legged atop the bison, though he was no longer meditating, and managed to look dignified despite the creature perched on his head. Fareeha was standing next to the bison and scratching his great furry head. He seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

And, more importantly, Fareeha was wearing Jesse’s hat.

“Were you gonna let me go on like that forever?” Jesse asked.

Fareeha shrugged. “Perhaps.” She looked up at Genji. “What do you think now: simple mind or not?”

“In all honesty, I have not yet decided,” Genji said. “However, lemur-bats,” he pointed at the creature on his head, “despite their strangeness, are quite perceptive. I would not trust their judgement on all things, but their reactions to new people who offer them nothing can tell a person much. If this one likes him, then perhaps he is only largely simple.”

“I think it likes Bastion, too,” Fareeha added, snuggling closer to the bison. Jesse’s hat went slightly askew on her head as she pressed closer to the furry face.

“Anyone would like Bastion,” Jesse grumbled, “now that he’s not all mean.”

“Not his food,” Genji argued.

“Yeah, well, from what your master said, there’s a lot less that falls under the ‘food’ category in his mind nowadays.”

“Don’t give him ideas, Jesse,” Fareeha warned cheekily. “What’s going to entertain me if you’re eaten?”

Jesse’s scowl deepened. She looked too good in his hat. “You can play air tricks like the other airbenders.”

“I’m not _just_ an airbender.”

“Don’t let Zenyatta hear you say that,” Genji reminded her.

“Yes, you really shouldn’t,” a voice said.

The three of them - Genji included - jumped at the sound in varying degrees. Zenyatta had appeared behind Genji, hovering several feet above the surface below him while remaining cross-legged. He nodded in greeting to Genji before gently sliding down the bison’s side on an air scooter. The airbender came to a stop in front of Fareeha and stood easily, though he remained levitating. With a casual flick of his hand, Zenyatta made Jesse’s hat glide off of Fareeha’s head and land easily on that of its rightful owner.                                            

“Tell me, Avatar Fareeha,” Zenyatta said, “would it be rude or unrealistic of me to ask that you only airbend in the time that you are my student?” From his tone, it was a perfectly innocent question. From the probing look in his eyes, however, there was a deeper meaning. Fareeha and Jesse had only been at the air temple a few weeks; Zenyatta was still trying to figure them out.

Fareeha straightened. “That depends,” she began confidently, “on your definition of my time as your student. In the instances where we are training or practicing, not at all. I came here to learn airbending, after all. However, if you mean the entire length of time it takes me to master airbending, which will likely take years, then yes. I’ve worked too hard to master fire and earth to cast them aside for the sake of you.”

Jesse winced. Fareeha had spoken perhaps too harshly. Genji narrowed his eyes curiously, but his expression did not reveal whether what she said was good or bad. He was wondering what would happen next.

Zenyatta smiled thinly, but not unkindly. “You’re quite clever, Fareeha. This shall be a learning opportunity for the both of us. I see you’ve made a friend.” Zenyatta switched topics without skipping a beat. He went from one thought to the next with ease, looking up at the lemur-bat on Genji’s head.

“It enjoys living perches,” Genji commented. The creature’s tail tickled the scar on the bottom of Genji’s chin. “Does not seem to mind us, either.”

“Even Bastion?” Zenyatta asked, looking at the sky bison curiously. It had taken Zenyatta months to calm the bison, and disciplining him had been a whole separate affair. He still prefered solitude and quiet above all else, but Genji had managed to take Bastion for a few rides and encouraged him to interact with others. Slowly, it appeared to be paying off.

“Even Bastion,” Genji confirmed.

“Shall we bring him back, then?” As if he knew what Genji and Zenyatta were talking about, the lemur-bat flew down from Genji’s head to roll playfully in Bastion’s fur. “I think they are friends already.”

“He needs a name,” Jesse added. “If he’s gonna be stayin’, that is.”

Zenyatta nodded thoughtfully. The bobbing of his head was in time with the gentle up-down of his body as he hovered above the ground. “What would you suggest, McCree?” Zenyatta was the only one who called Jesse by his surname.

Jesse observed the lemur-bat carefully for several moments. “Ganymede,” he decided. “Knew a guy back home with the name. Had the biggest damn eyes I’ve ever seen, just like this fella.”

“I like it,” Genji said. “Master?” Zenyatta nodded, still in time with his hovering.

“Ganymede,” Fareeha echoed, testing out the feel of the word. The lemur-bat perked up at the sound of his new name - a fact that did not escape anyone present. Fareeha smiled. “Well, I guess that’s your name now, my friend. Welcome to the family.”

Ganymede flew down from on top of Bastion and circled overhead a few times before settling on Zenyatta’s perfectly bald head. He made an alarmed noise upon realizing that his new perch was not, in fact, attached to the ground, but quickly accepted it and curled up on the airbender’s head, looking like a very strange hat. Fareeha and Jesse shared a smile at the sight as Genji resisted a giggle for roughly three seconds before bursting into mad, heaving laughs.

Everyone started at the sound. Genji was not one for such laughs; he wall all clever smirks and dry jokes and a perfect calm years beyond his youthfulness, scarred or not. But this, this was youth in all its glory. The angry scars around Genji’s mouth and eyes creased as he grinned and his sleeves came loose as he shook with laughter, revealing scratches and burns up his arms that Jesse and Fareeha had never seen before, but none of them cared. The sparrow was living up to his Fire Nation roots and reflecting as bright as the sun.

With a fond smile, Zenyatta reached up and patted Ganymede’s head. “Thank you, Ganymede,” he said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @citrusdrink here! Thank you so much for reading! I was surprised, but happy, to see that some people were actually reading my writing. I hope you all have a fantastic New Year's and let's hope that 2017 goes better than its predecessor...


	3. Sabotage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lúcio discovers Vishkar's superweapon, and discovers a new ability he never had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @citrusdrink)

_This is stupid._

_This is reckless._

_This is dangerous._

Lúcio ignored these warnings his judgment sent him. After all, it was clear that no matter how hard they protested, the people of his village would continue to suffer under Vishkar. One of the members of the resistance group had suggested break-ins before--when simply raiding supply shipments proved ineffective--but Lúcio believed they wouldn’t have to go to such measures. After all, Vishkar were all about helping the less fortunate. Surely they would listen to reason.

 _Then you wouldn’t be here_ , Lúcio thought as he broke the lock to the stairwell. Before going inside, he sneered at the mayoral office. It was once a quaint wooden building, until Vishkar remodeled it out of steel and ice. Such techniques supposedly made construction faster, and the product stronger. They even claimed that they could even move entire cities with little effort.

A bunch of Vishkar propaganda, Lúcio figured.

Opening the door ever-so slightly, he snuck into the room and climbed up the stairs. This was his first solo mission, and perhaps his most dangerous one. The local rumor mill suggested that Vishkar was developing some sort of new technology. Many people believed it was something dangerous--something to make Vishkar’s job of controlling the villagers easier. Some even dared to call it a “superweapon”.

Lúcio didn’t want to believe it, but as curfews became stricter and the labor became harder, the more he became suspicious of the corporation's true motives. Of course, he wasn’t alone in his doubts; that’s all any of his fellow freedom fighters would talk about at their meetings.

“They’ll completely run over the city!”

“How are we supposed to fight against it?”

“We’ll all be killed if the rumors are true!”

These questions and more flooded the warehouse. Lúcio tapped repeatedly on his microphone. “People, please! We can’t lose hope—that’s what Vishkar wants us to do!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” He heard someone shout. “It’s not like we can just waltz into the Vishkar offices and _ask_ for their plans!”

People murmured in agreement. “Besides, nobody here is crazy enough to break into the Vishkar office at town hall!”

Lúcio allowed to crowd to debate those questions amongst themselves before calling order. “Then I’ll just have to go by myself!” he declared once he earned their attention. The crowd immediately jeered in response.

“Absolutely not!”

“You’ll get thrown in jail, or worse!”

“Who will lead us if you’re gone?”

Lúcio merely shook his head. “It’s not like they haven’t arrested me before. Besides, if anyone should get caught, I’d rather it be me than all of us.” A hush fell over the crowd. Lúcio swore he heard a pin drop. He took a deep breath before continuing, “Look, this isn’t an easy decision. But it’s the best shot we have.” Lúcio raised his hands towards the crowd. “I promise you that I _will_ find this “superweapon” and I promise you that I _will_ return!”

Unless that’s what Vishkar wanted him to think—to think that this mission would be a cakewalk. This empty corridor would be perfect for an ambush, after all. Vishkar had to be anticipating that someone, _anyone_ would try and sabotage their plans.

And yet Lúcio was easily able to avoid the passing guards.

He was about to turn into a corner when he heard one of them grunt, “Remember to keep an eye out for any intruders from that _resistance_ group.” Lúcio immediately ducked behind the wall and listened in.

“What, you mean those nonbenders?” The other guard scoffed. “We’ve got bending _and_ the latest tech on our side—what do we have to worry about?”

“That’s not the point, you fool. If someone’s determined enough to do something, they _will_ do it.”

Peeking from the corner, Lúcio saw the second guard shrug. “If you say so.”

Ducking behind the wall, Lúcio waited until their footsteps were out of earshot before emerging. He creeped down the hallway until he reached the door marked “Office AF3”.

_Jackpot!_

Much like the door to the stairwell, Lúcio had little trouble breaking the lock. Entering the room, he immediately began searching for any evidence of this supposed superweapon. He pulled open drawers and rummaged through the file cabinets, but his search turned up empty. _Maybe it’s in another room,_ Lúcio thought. He double-checked every possible crevice in the room, and again found nothing. He turned to leave when he heard a very loud, “Hey, what are you doing in here?”

Lúcio didn’t waste time trying to stall the guard. He was caught, and it would only be a matter of time before the whole complex knew of the intruder. He ran for the door and pushed the man out of his way. “Sorry!” Lúcio yelled as he dashed down the corridor. The guard ordered for him to stop, but Lúcio kept on running. _You’re almost out of here,_ his mind encouraged. _Just a few more steps and—_

Suddenly, the lights turned blood red. His eardrums were assaulted by the loud blare of sirens throughout the room.

“Great, just _great_.” Lúcio muttered to himself. If the other guards didn’t know he was here, then they certainly do now. He was about to turn into the next corner when he was met with a dead end. Wasn’t he still on the third floor? There should be a door here, what happened to it? Lúcio had barely made it into the open bridge platform when he heard, “Over there!”. He whipped his head around to see two of those Vishkar goons—one of them had a fireball curled in her hand while the other one had a stream of water ready to go. “Surrender yourself for arrest, intruder!” The firebender ordered. “You’ll have to catch me, first!” Lúcio taunted.

He barely ducked at the incoming fireball, feeling the heat radiate onto his head.

“I can assure you that the next shot will not miss, thief.” The firebender spat.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it.”

“Enough of this foolishness!” The waterbender shouted. “We must seize him before he can escape.”

He whipped the water towards Lúcio’s feet, but he was quick to dodge it. Springing back onto his feet, Lúcio swung over the railing and jumped off the bridge. “Don’t let him get away!” He heard the firebender shout. Lúcio’s heartbeat buzzed in his ears and his lungs begged for a break, but he couldn’t afford to stop. To allow himself to be captured. Who knows where they’d send him—no doubt somewhere far away. What would become of his people then? Would someone take his place in the resistance, or would it all crumble and die?

His spirits rose when he saw a set of double doors at the end of a hallway. He wasted no time ducking into the next room. Lúcio first thought the room might lead to the stairwell, or at least another office that he could hide in.

The room was neither of those things.

He found himself in some kind of warehouse. Skyways covered the front, back, and sides. Construction materials laid in orderly piles amidst various other trinkets, but it all paled in comparison to what was in the center of the room. From far away, it looked like a massive circular speaker. Upon closer expectation, Lúcio saw that the speaker stood on a long pole that was attached to a wheeled base. This _is their superweapon?_ , he thought to himself. It looked more like something he would use at a concert. He was about to climb the stairs down when the doors sudden busted open. “There he is!” one of the guards shouted. “Don’t let him escape!”

Jumping over the railing, Lúcio landed on the ground with a hard _thud_. The clanking footsteps of the Vishkar workers reminded him that he was still being chased. Lúcio ran about the room, frantically searching for an exit, but everything looked the same in the low-light. As the footsteps grew louder, his heart beat faster. The only way out was from a massive garage door, but Lúcio saw no lock to break.

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening...” Lúcio muttered, continuing in vain to look for some means of escape. The mission was going so well, even with the entire building on alert. He had found the superweapon, and he was _so close_ to getting out. However, Lúcio barely had time for self-pity as a blast of fire was hurled dangerously close to his face. Turning around, he saw the two benders he had encountered just moments before.

“It appears that the cat has caught up with the mouse at last.” The firebender taunted.

“And it looks like you brought along your friends, too.” Lúcio gestured at the Vishkar employees behind her. “Even you Vishkar can’t pick a fair fight.”

His opponents readied their stances. The firebender scowled. “I will not stand here and be lectured about fairness by a _child_. Get him!”

Lúcio barely had time to react as the Vishkar guards swarmed him. His spine bent backwards to avoid a stream of water whipping at his head, only to twist his body around to dodge a flanking firebender. It soon became difficult for Lúcio to tell where which element came from. The low lighting didn’t make the situation better, as he felt the heat of fire and the chill of ice coming closer with each blast. As he jumped backwards, his back bumped into a dead-end. Lúcio tried to regain territory, but the Vishkar guards quickly encircled him. Turning to face his opponents, he braced himself for a slaughter. _At least I’ll go down fighting_ , he thought.

“It’s over, you rebel scum! Surrender now, and then perhaps I won’t have to burn that silly mask of yours.”

Despite his labored breathing, Lúcio felt himself smirk. “Too bad you can’t burn your own mask, Vishkar. What would the mayor think if she learned _this_ was being built right under her nose?”

The firebender summoned a ball of fire in her hand; illuminating her cruel smile. “Quite the contrary. Not only does Madam Mayor _know_ about this new technology, she has even helped to _fund_ its development.”

Lúcio’s eyes widened, but he then glared at the woman. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You don’t. Now, enough talk. We must take you into custody.”

With their elements ready, the Vishkar guards began to tighten the circle. It seemed that there was no escape for Lúcio—his fellow freedom fighters were right. He shouldn’t have gone alone, what was he thinking? Now he would have to pay the ultimate price, but not in fines or in prison.

He had let down his people when they needed him the most.

Suddenly, movements that were not his own guided his arms. In a blink of an eye, Lúcio felt himself push everyone around him away. Yet he was still standing where he was just moments before. The Vishkar employees groaned from the floor, but Lúcio stared at his hands. This wasn’t the first time he had heard of this kind of bending. Several months ago, a master of this element visited his village. The master explained that he was looking for students to train, but found no one. However, Lúcio still remembered what the master had said; such power often times doesn’t reveal itself until it’s truly needed.

In other words, airbending had possibly saved Lúcio’s life.

Clenching his fist, he punched the air, and a gust of wind knocked down a guard who was trying to get up. “Woah.” Lúcio heard himself say.

“An airbender?” Someone gasped.

“What are you fools doing?” The firebender demanded. “Why isn’t he in handcuffs?”

Before his would-be captors could recover, Lúcio made a break for the staircase. He would have to come back next time to deal with the strange Vishkar device, but at least he saw it with his own eyes. _If there’ll even_ be _a next time_ , Lúcio thought as he raced across the building’s many skywalks. Finally reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he dashed onto the backroad with what little energy he had left. It wouldn’t be fair of him to give his chasers a head-start, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a good New Year's! This chapter was a bit more difficult to write, but as always, thank you so much for reading it. Stay tuned for more~


	4. Bear Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mei helps Zarya train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @citrusdrink)

"Little bear! Let us begin our training."

 

Mei barely had time to react when the ground beneath her gave away. "Well, wait for me to get ready!" She cried. Coaxing a stream of water from a fountain, Mei shaped the element into a snake-like whip. She attempted to strike at the earthbending champion, but Zarya blocked the attack with an earth wall.

"I know you can do better, little bear." Zarya sent the wall back into the ground. She lifted a healthy-sized boulder over her head.

"Now come on--give it your all!"  

Mei groaned, but she readied her stance.

Raising her hands, she whipped another lash of water at the Zarya’s feet. She moved backwards, but the earthbender remained standing like a mountain. “Don’t hold back!” Zarya encouraged. She sent the rock flying at Mei. The waterbender let out a shriek as she summoned as much water as she could. She quickly shielded herself entirely in the element before freezing it. The boulder encased itself mere inches away from Mei’s face. Zarya walked up to the frozen girl and dislodged the intruding rock.

“You are not going to stay in there forever, no?” She tapped a finger on the cold ice.

Mei’s eyes shifted towards Zarya before melting her dome.

She pushed her sopping hair away from her face. “I don’t like it when you do that, Zarya.”

“But your defense is getting better, little bear! We just need to improve your offense.”

 _Great_ , Mei thought. _More rocks flying at my face._

 

“Don’t be shy, Mei—hit me!” “I’m trying!” Mei screamed. Drawing two streams of water, she created column of ice and began hurling frozen discs at Zarya. However, Zarya was able to easily counter the small woman’s attacks. Sending down the earth wall, she struck the ground with her foot. The disturbed earth shot straight towards Mei. She barely had enough time to melt her ice column into a blob of water. Directing it into the fissure, Mei froze the water and completely stopped the attack from reaching her.

Zarya clapped in response. “Good work!” Using her earthbending, she cleared the fissure from the arena. Mei couldn’t help herself from smiling.

“But let’s see you dodge this!”

Raising her fists, Zarya lifted fragments of rock from the ground. Focusing her energy, she condensed the element into a solid mass. “Remember to visualize, then execute, little bear!”

But before she could throw the rock, Mei noticed that Zarya neglected to clear the ground near her. There was still some water left in the sand, just barely enough to bend. _Visualize, then execute_ , Mei repeated in her mind. She imagined the ground becoming slippery, and bended the water into a sleet of ice. As Zarya moved her foot, she lost her balance and crashed to the floor.

Mei gasped and ran to her girlfriend’s side. "Zarya! I'm so, so, so sorry! I didn't think you would fall like that. I shouldn't have done that, I'm so--"

Zarya started laughing.

"Ha! That's what I want to see!"

Mei felt her face flare up. “ _Aleksandra_! That’s not funny!”

Zarya kissed the waterbender’s warm cheek and continued laughing. “But it is, little bear! I must keep that floor trick in mind for my next Earth Rumble tournament.”

“I would rather you didn’t.” Mei helped Zarya to stand up. “Come on—I need to heal your arm.”

Zarya shook her hand away and jumped back onto her feet. “After we complete more exercises!”

Mei tried to suppress an incoming groan.

 

Pulling a stream of water from her canteen, Mei surrounded her hands with the element. Zarya hissed as the cold water touched her cuts. “Who knew ice could be so sharp?”

Mei sighed audibly, shifting her hands around the earthbender's arm. "You out of all people should know that.” 

Zarya chuckled. “Sometimes I forget what an amazing bender you are, little bear.”

Even in her annoyance, Mei couldn’t stop herself from blushing. “Flattery won’t let you off the hook, Zarya.”

“Perhaps not.” Zarya leaned closer to Mei’s red face. “But this might.” 

She kissed her healer on the mouth.

Although she was surprised by the gesture, Mei found herself shamelessly leaning into her face. Zarya smelled like sweat and tasted like dirt. However, Mei's shift in attention caused the water to loose its shape and it splashed on Zarya's arm. She immediately broke the kiss.

“Ah! I’m so sorry; I must have lost my focus.” Mei tried to save as much of the water as she could, but Zarya placed her hand over hers.

“Do not apologize, little bear. After all,” She flexed her arm. “how can you _not_ be distracted by these guns?”

Mei smacked Zarya’s arm, but the strike barely left an imprint on her muscles. “Zarya! I can’t believe you sometimes.”

“Neither can I.”

 **“** _Aleksandra_! **”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cheeseballs, I can't believe this fic managed to reach 100 hits! Thank you so much for taking the time for reading this silly au. I hope you will continue following the series (^_^)


	5. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ana suspects that her daughter might be the Avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @girlofshadowsandstars)

Reinhardt was a loud person. It was evident from a glance at his frighteningly large form, but few ever expected the extent of it. Ana knew that his hearing had been damaged in his younger years, although he hardly qualified as an old man, if at all. As a result of Rein’s injury, most of what he said tended to be significantly louder than the average person.  Every word seemed urgent with his shouting, but, in reality, he was fairly levelheaded.

For the longest time, Ana honestly assumed he was not aware of his poor hearing. Naturally, when he was tired, Reinhardt’s voice was much quieter. Even so, she had never heard him intentionally speak at a normal volume paired with an unsettling calmness.

Well, until that day.

Ana was in the kitchen, waiting for her tea water to boil as she read a letter from Jack. He was still traveling with Gabriel, looking to recruit fresh fighters for _Overwatch_ : the elite group of warriors who protected the world. Prior to the spirit uprising, each nation had their own protective forces, but when so many were lost in the fight, Ana, Jack, and Gabriel decided to form a coalition of benders. As the Avatar slowly faded towards the beginning of their run, they were needed more and more. Now, of course, that a new Avatar had been born the better part of a decade prior, Gabriel was trying to convince Jack to start looking for them.

At times, Ana felt guilty for leaving her post and not aiding in the search, but she had received word of the Avatar's death not a week after her daughter Fareeha’s birth. And from the first moment she touched her baby, Ana had made a promise to herself. Something had to take precedent, and she decided it would be Fareeha.

There had - admittedly - been a few times where Ana had put on her old garb and sped off into the sand to dispense justice, but those were extreme occasions. Exceptions. Justifiable in nature. She had done nothing wrong- _screech!_

Ana was shaken from her thoughts by the whistling of the teapot. She set down the letter and turned off the stove. As she pulled out a pair of cups, Ana heard Reinhardt’s heavy footsteps coming down the hall.

“Would you like some?” she asked, though the answer was one she already knew.

“Of course!” Reinhardt replied, sitting down at the table. “Is this from the commander?”

Ana turned her head briefly. Rein was pointing at the letter from Jack. She nodded before going back to pouring hot water into the cups. “Feel free to read it.”

“In a moment.”

That gave Ana pause. She set down the teapot and turned to face her husband, frowning. “Is there something going on?”

Reinhardt shrugged. “Difficult to tell,” he said nonchalantly, in a voice too soft for his personality. “Would Fareeha firebending count as ‘something going on’?”

Had Ana been holding anything, it would have fallen to the floor. “ _What?_ ” she cried, eyes widening and mind racing with potential explanations. There was no way Fareeha could be a firebender; Ana and Reinhardt were both earthbenders. Of course, there was always the horrendous possibility of her daughter being the Avatar, but Avatars always presented their birth element first, so that would make no sense. And firebenders were not like airbenders, whose abilities could appear at random in anyone regardless of heredity; they were proud and pure-bred, and that was just from the ragtag few Ana had met in her lifetime.

Speaking of which, people had always accused her and Jack of being a pair. Of course, Ana was so flirtatious in nature that people had asked if she was with every one of her friends at one point or another. Jack himself had pointed it out at one point, and was promptly knocked onto his rear when the ground under his feet shifted ‘unexpectedly’. He never judged Ana’s habits again, and coincidentally had no objections or judgements when Ana and Reinhardt announced they were getting married. Or rather, Rein had done the announcing part, but Ana had made a point to be there.

For the first time in her life, Ana was sputtering, tripping between thoughts and words, looking for an explanation that wasn’t awful. The more logical part of her, the one that made her a good soldier, mentally slapped her in the face. Taking a deep breath, Ana steadied herself, shaking off the panic. She looked up at Reinhardt, worried about what he would say. What he would think.

The bastard was _smiling_.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” Ana asked suspiciously.

“Where?” Reinhardt asked, looking around in confusion.

“That thing on your face.”

“What?”

“It looks like a smile.”

Reinhardt chuckled (or rather, his equivalent of a chuckle). “That may be because it is.”

“Why are you smiling?”

The smile turned into a smug grin. “Because I know something that you do not.”

Ana’s frown deepened. She despised not knowing things. Both suspicious and frustrated, Ana opened a window and looked out. Fareeha was sitting in the garden, absently weaving blades of grass together. There was a largish black patch of grass a few feet away from her.

“Fareeha,” Ana called. Her daughter instantly looked up, question in her eyes. “Come inside, please.”

As their daughter hurried to her feet and towards the door to the house, Reinhardt chuckled again. “There is an explanation, you know.”

“Of course there is,” Ana scowled. “I just want to be sure that the explanation isn’t you trying to be funny.” Reinhardt was not _much_ of a prankster, per se, but one could never be too sure.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Fareeha called as she hurried down the hall to the kitchen. She saw that her mother was trying to repress a scowl, and her father was sitting easily, smiling with a twinkle in his eye. The mixed signals from both of her parents made Fareeha distinctly uncomfortable, but she kept walking nonetheless.

Seeing her daughter, Ana knelt down to roughly Fareeha’s eye level and gestured for her to come closer. The little girl obliged, coming closer until there was hardly a foot of space between them.

“Fareeha,” Ana said gently, trying not to panic over the black patch in the grass she had seen outside, “have you been playing with fire?”

“I’ve been careful,” Fareeha blurted, before Ana raised a hand to silence her. She nodded sheepishly, lowering her gaze. “Yes, mama.”

“Can you show me?”

Fareeha lifted her head in surprise. She turned and gave her father a questioning look. He met her with an encouraging nod. Fareeha turned back to Ana. She cupped her hands together and put them in front of her face. Fareeha focused on the space above her hand, and within seconds, a small red flame appeared.

Ana resisted the instinctive urge to gasp. She had been in three-on-one fights with master firebenders and won; a little flame should do nothing to rattle her. However, this was not a fight. This was a child, a girl of seven and the daughter of two earthbenders, holding a flame in her hand. Fareeha did not know if it was good or bad yet, only that she could do it. Unsure of what to think of her newfound power, she watched her mother’s face. As far as Fareeha was aware, her mother was the smartest person alive and thus, the ultimate judge of wrong and right.

And her mother was currently silent.

“Is it bending?” Fareeha asked tentatively. She had only ever seen earthbending, and was aware of the existence of other types of bending, but she had no idea of how they worked or what they even looked like. Her mother had a strict no-bending rule in the house.

“It is,” Ana said, putting her hand a few inches above the flame to feel its heat. “Firebending. Your uncle Jack is a firebender. It’s a dangerous element.”

The flame flickered. Fareeha’s lip trembled. “Is it bad?” she asked.

“No, no, baby,” Ana reassured, putting her hands on her daughter's cheeks. The flame flickered and died as Fareeha’s hands fell to her sides. “It’s not bad,” Ana said with full sincerity, looking into her little girl’s eyes.

“In fact, my mother was a firebender,” Reinhardt said.

Ana’s head snapped up. He was still sitting at the table with the same smug smile. _So_ that’s _what he knew that I didn’t_ , Ana thought. Internally, she was very relieved. Externally, she was glaring daggers at her husband. “You couldn’t have led with that?” Ana growled through her teeth, covering Fareeha’s ears.

Rein shook his head. “This was much more entertaining.”

“ _For one of us!_ ”

“Can I have my ears back, mama?” Fareeha asked loudly.

Remembering her daughter was in the room, Ana removed her hands from Fareeha’s ears. She took a steadying breath and pulled her forward, touching their foreheads so that they were both shrouded from the world by curtains of dark hair.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Ana whispered. “It’s a beautiful thing to be a bender. Almost as beautiful as you are on your own. But this,” she tapped the center of her daughter’s chest, “that you have in you is a very special gift. The fire in your belly, in your soul? That was given to you by your grandmother. She would have wanted you to do something great with it. Do you want that?”

Fareeha nodded eagerly. Ana grinned and kissed her nose. “Good. But that can come later. You can go back and play.”

Of course, at seven, Fareeha cared more about playing than bending. She giggled and threw her arms around her mother’s neck before turning and running back the way she came. Adventure was outside, not in the flames she conjured.

Ana stayed in her crouching position for several moments, staring at the spot her daughter had just occupied. Eventually, she stood up, shaking off the absurdity of the last few minutes. Reinhardt was sitting patiently.

Quietly.

A twinge of annoyance struck her, though she realized he probably wasn’t sure why she was as panicked as she was.

“You know,” Ana began, going back to pouring the tea, “if your mother hadn’t been a firebender, our daughter would have been the Avatar.”

“Dramatic,” was all he said.

“There’s no other explanation.”

“That’s not true.”

Ana gave him a hard look. Even the sheer mention of the hypothetical possibility of infidelity on Ana’s part was a huge _no_ . “No other plausible explanation, then,” she corrected, putting emphasis on _plausible_. She walked over to the table, holding a teacup in each hand, and slid one in front of Reinhardt. He accepted it gratefully.

“Perhaps I did overreact,” Ana admitted. “But that letter from Jack got me confused, I suppose. Gabriel wants to start looking for the Avatar. It will be an Earth Kingdom child, you know. And Fareeha’s age, too.”

Reinhardt shrugged. “A problem for another day.”

Ana sat down next to him and nodded in agreement. “Either way,” she said, picking up the letter from Jack, “it’s the beginning of something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @citrusdrink here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. My co-author and I would greatly appreciate any comments/constructive criticisms! We'll be sure to get back to you guys as quickly as possible.


	6. Little Soldier Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Morrison reflects upon his actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @citrusdrink)

Jack couldn’t hear anything.

 

A sliver of light crept through the rubble. All he could remember was Gabriel barging into Overwatch’s headquarters. Jack recalled him being backed by other members of Blackwatch, eager to follow their leader. A battle ensued, and both sides went at each other’s throats with elements and blades.

And then, nothing.

Dragging himself out of the wreck, Jack stared into his open palm. Summoning what strength he had, a small flame flickered in his hand. He remembered a song his mother once sang to him.

 

Unlike the lullaby, this soldier boy would not come marching home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! I wanted to challenge myself to write a traditional drabble, so let me know how I did in the comments (and if you would like to see more shorter fics)!


	7. Fratricide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hanzo challenges Genji to an Agni Kai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @citrusdrink)

_When will you straighten that boy out?_

 

Genji had been the bane of his clan’s existence, and he took pride in that. Spending your days discussing which drugs to smuggle and which heads to chop quickly lost its appeal as he aged. He wished his brother shared his feelings, but no matter how much Genji begged, Hanzo refused to skip out on their duties. “You out of all people should know the importance of training.” Hanzo would stress. He was right of course—Genji was one of the few Shimadas who couldn’t generate lightning. However, he still had firebending, along with his sword and shuriken. Of course, he could always rely on besting his brother at Pai Sho.

“Hah! I win again, brother.” Genji cheered, standing up from his seat.

“Hmph. So you have.” Hanzo grumbled as he sipped his tea.

Genji cleared the Pai Sho board. “Let’s do another round—maybe this time you can actually _beat_ me at my own game.”

Hanzo glared at his brother from his cup. He had no other duties to tend to that evening, and subsequently nothing else better to do. “Fine.” He responded.

“But if I win, you have to go to practice _every day_ for the next month.”

Genji smirked. “And if I win, you have to _skip_ practice every day for the next month.”

Hanzo’s eyes widened at the heightened stakes. Nonetheless, he stared directly at Genji and said, “Challenge accepted.” However, before they begin the next round, a servant slammed the door open.

“What is the meaning of this?” Hanzo demanded, standing up.

“My apologizes, young masters.” The servant sputtered. “But I have very urgent news: it’s about your father.”

Genji stood up at the mention of the Shimada Clan’s leader. “What about him? What’s wrong?”

The servant shook her head. “Please, you must come with me. We don’t have much time.”

 

The servant rushed the two brothers to their father’s chambers. Shutting the door behind them, Hanzo and Genji were left alone with their parents. Several other important clan members were also there. “Father!” Hanzo and Genji cried, running up to their father’s bedside. “We came as fast as we could.” Hanzo said. Their father coughed violently into a handkerchief.

“So, _this_ is how the great leader of the Shimada clan falls: not from an assassin, not from a traitor, but from this insufferable disease.” His wife thumbed his hand tenderly as he beckoned one of his sons over.

“Hanzo, my firstborn, please come here.”

He obliged and carefully sat down next to his father.

“The doctors say that my illness is becoming aggressive.” his father explained. “I’ll be lucky to live to see the week’s end.”

Hanzo choked back a sob, but refused to let his father see him cry. “What will become of the clan, now?” He asked, although he already knew the answer.

His father smiled sadly at him. “Hanzo, my eldest son, _you_ must take my place as leader.” He wheezed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Take care of your mother take care of the clan, but most importantly, take care of your brother.”

Hanzo glanced back at Genji, who was waiting at the back of the room. He was observing their conversations while holding back tears. “What of Genji?”

His father leaned into his ear. “I fear that in my absence, your brother will stray too far from home. You must set him back on the right path.”

“Permission to speak freely, Father?”

“You may.”

Hanzo bent closer to his father’s ear. “There’s absolutely no way Genji will listen to me, Father. He’s late to practice, cheats on his diets, spends too much time downtown—I-I could go on.”

His father laughed weakly. “I know, Hanzo. That is why you must never give up on him. No matter how hard things may seem, Genji is, and always will be, your brother.”

 

_He has dishonored the clan._

_He has dishonored our father._

_He has dishonored you._

 

Hanzo repeated this mantra as he shed his robe. He turned to face his opponent. Genji met his cold stare from the other end of the arena. It had been some time since their father had passed. Hanzo did his best to keep the clan together, but Genji saw this time of confusion as an opportunity to leave. However, his treachery did not go unnoticed. So, like a good Shimada boy, Hanzo did the only thing he could think of.

He challenged Genji to an Agni Kai.

The orange sunset would have been beautiful under different circumstances, Genji figured. He wanted to oppose the duel, but Hanzo had challenged him in front of the entire Shimada clan. If he could manage to win, Genji would be able to finally break free from his family.

“Perhaps if you had obeyed our father’s dying wish, we wouldn’t be here.” Hanzo said.

“Perhaps.” Genji replied. “A pity things don’t always go how we plan, _brother_.”

Hanzo felt his body flare with heat. He clenched his fists and nearly started the Agni Kai early before he caught himself. From the corner of his eye, Hanzo saw their mother in the stands. Her brow was creased and her lip was trembling. For a moment, he regretted his decision his decision, only for his mother’s sake. Hanzo tried to imagine watching his own future children duel each other in an Agni Kai. However, that daydream was quickly shaken out of his head by the heavy sound of the gong.

 

The duel had begun.

 

Hanzo made the first move, lashing out a blaze of blue fire from his fist. Ducking, Genji rolled away from the attack and jabbed a fireball at Hanzo. However, Hanzo caught the fireball and redirected it at Genji, who barely had time to dodge it. _Damn, that was too close_ , Genji thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“What’s the matter, brother?” Hanzo asked. “Getting tired already?”

“Many things have tired me, Hanzo. This is not one of them.”

Clasping his hands together, Genji swung his arms up from the ground and created a blazing arc. The flames lashed out at Hanzo, but he broke through the strike with a sweeping motion of his leg. He had hardly broken a sweat. As he kept dodging Hanzo’s attacks, Genji desperately searched his mind for a new strategy. He couldn’t avoid attacking his brother forever--not with the entire clan watching them. Unbeknownst to Genji, Hanzo had a similar thought. _There’s no way Genji can keep this up_ , he thought. _I have to end this_ now.

Using both of his hands, Hanzo directed two streams of fire at Genji. The flames curled around Genji’s feet before erupting into tall columns. All he could see were shades of brilliant blues until Hanzo broke through the wall. However, he stopped in front of Genji. He simply stood in front of him, stance readied. Genji wasn’t sure what to make of it, until it he finally decided to break the silence.

“I’ll admit, you put on a good show for the clan, Hanzo—just as you always do.”

“Enough! You’ve had your chance to straighten yourself out, and you completely wasted it!” Hanzo started circling around Genji.

Genji matched his brother’s movements. “So what is stopping you from ending it right here and now?”

 

Hanzo resisted the urge to strike him right then. _Remain calm_ , he told himself. _You must remove all of your emotions in order for this to work_. Hanzo said nothing in response to Genji’s taunt. Instead, holding his index and middle fingers up, he began moving his hands in a circular motion. Genji heard himself gasp among the crackling of the fire. He immediately prepared himself to redirect his brother’s inevitable attack. However, Genji didn’t have to wait long for it, as white lightning suddenly shot from Hanzo’s fingertips.

His movements were so quick that Genji nearly allowed the lightning to move straight into his heart. He struggled to guide it through his stomach, all while silently cursing himself for skipping out on his lessons. _Just keep it away from your heart,_ Genji thought over and over. However, as he felt the lightning leaving through his other arm, Hanzo kicked him in the chest. The lightning shot upwards from Genji’s fingers as he fell, but not without leaving a sharp pain in his upper body. It was like there was still some lighting left, crackling around his heart. Clenching his chest, Genji struggled to get up, but stopped as a shadow loomed over him. The blue fire darkened the corners of Hanzo’s face.

Genji laughed weakly. “It appears you are victorious once again, Hanzo.”

“As I always am, Genji.” The surrounding flames began closing in on them.

“Though we have always had our differences, I will forever see you as my equal, brother.”

Hanzo narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You were _never_ my equal.” Swinging his arms, he folded the flames over Genji; completely engulfing him in the inferno.

Genji let out a terrible scream as the flames burned through his skin, until the pain had numbed his senses completely. He briefly recalled the times he spent with Hanzo in their youth, when they only cared about beating each other at sparring or Pai Sho. He thought about his mother, and the grief she would go through once more. The last thing Genji saw amongst the fire’s azure glow was Hanzo’s face. Genji could have sworn he saw tears starting to fall on his brother’s cheeks.

 

And then, nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 200 hits already?! I honestly can't believe how many people have been reading this series. I hope you all are enjoying this AU as much as I am. I have lots more planned, so stick around~


	8. Dark Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Reaper teaches Widowmaker bloodbending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (written by @citrusdrink)

“Teach me.” she told him.

 

 

“I am more than ready.” Amélie—or Widowmaker, as she was now known—insisted. If she still had any shred of her former self, Reaper would have thought she was begging. “I have mastered waterbending. I can shoot a target 100 meters away—you _know_ that I can do it.” She glared straight into his mask, unflinching. “Teach me how to bloodbend.” Reaper would always shake his head and push her away. “No, you’re not,” he responded. “and I’m under no obligation to teach _you_ anything.” This usually ended the conversation there, and Reaper would leave Widowmaker alone with her silent disappointment.

 

That is until, one day, she came up to him with a smirk on her face. “What’s got you in such a disgusting mood?” he grumbled. Widowmaker said nothing, and simply handed him a slip of paper. Snatching it from her hand, Reaper saw that it was a direct order from his employer. Surprise, surprise, they wanted him to teach her bloodbending. ‘ _She’ll be a more efficient assassin’, my ass,_ Reaper thought as he crumpled the note in his fist.

“Tsk, tsk, your bosses will not be happy about that.” Widowmaker sneered.

“Fine,” Reaper growled. “I’ll teach you--but on one condition.”

“And what would that be?”

“You must do _exactly_ what I say or you can find a new bloodbending teacher.”

She scoffed. “I do not believe you are in a position to make such terms, but I accept them nonetheless.”

Reaper gave a curt nod. “We start at midnight, every night, from now on.” Widowmaker frowned at the training schedule. Her mind may be altered, but her body was bound by basic human needs. Upon seeing her disdain, Reaper smirked behind his mask.

“Do you have somewhere else to be?” He tilted his head.

Widowmaker crossed her arms and sighed. “No, of course not.”

“Good. See you then.”

 

 _It’s only a quarter moon tonight_ , Widowmaker observed as she looked at the tundra’s dark sky. _What does that fool think he can teach me without a full moon?_ She didn’t have to wait for long until she suddenly felt her muscles stiffen. Like a marionette on strings, Widowmaker was forced to turn around and face her teacher. “Lesson one,” Reaper began. “Resisting your opponent’s bloodbending.” He gave Widowmaker little time to react as he forced her to move sideways.

“Bloodbenders are more common than you think.” Reaper informed. “Although our craft has been universally banned, we are still able to practice it in secret.”

“That’s a nice history lesson, Reaper.” Widowmaker’s voice was straining. “Forgive me for not seeing the point in it.”

“You soon will. Underestimating _any_ form of bending will only result in you becoming tangled in your own web.”

Reaper’s bloodbending paralyzed every muscle in her body. It was like she was in a box that was closing in on her. Still, Widowmaker refused to let any of her pain show. “Why…why do you think I wanted to learn it in the first place?” she choked. “I won’t need to use my bow any—” The air suddenly became stuck in her throat.

“ _That_ is why I never wanted to teach you,” Reaper snarled. “You’ll only abuse its power.”

He let go of his grip on Widowmaker entirely; causing her to slump onto the snowy ground. She gasped for air like a fish out of water.

“Then,” Widowmaker wheezed. “ _why_ aren’t you teaching me bloodbending?”

Reaper crouched down next to the woman. Her cheeks had a bluish tint. Reaper found himself smirking at the irony—she usually was blue-faced with that garish makeup she always wore.

“Get up.”

Widowmaker’s eyes shot open. “What?” she asked, still gasping.

“I said, _get up_ ,” Reaper repeated, this time more assertively. He raised an arm and forced her to stand up. “In order to master bloodbending, you have to first learn to resist it. It can destroy the user just as easily as it can destroy others.”

Placing his arms behind his back, Reaper started to pace around Widowmaker. She remained in place, muscles still controlled by her teacher.

“You must determine _where_ the bloodbender is putting their energy in your body. Find it, and focus your own energy on that spot. Now,” he raised his hand. “ _stop_ me.”

Immediately, he bent Widowmaker’s arm backwards, earning a shriek from her. “This should be an easy one, Widowmaker!” he taunted. “And unless you want to keep both arms, I’d suggest you find a way to stop it!” The affected bone burned beneath her skin. Still, she tried to follow Reaper’s instruction. She focused her chi on her arm, and felt Reaper’s hold on her weaken ever-so slightly. Reaper felt the resistance as well.  “Heh, at least I can’t say you aren’t a fast learner.”

 

However, he left little time for Widowmaker to celebrate her victory. He pushed against her efforts harder, and her arm threatened to break. “Gather all of your energy into that area and free. Your. Arm!”

At this point, Widowmaker felt herself starting to crack underneath the immense pressure. However, admitting defeat was absolutely out of the question. She gathered every last bit of her energy, and focused on gaining control of her arm. Nothing else was important in that moment. Her temples pulsated and she could feel her heartbeat buzzing in her ear. Nevertheless, Widowmaker pushed against Reaper’s force and eventually regained control of her body.

“Finally.” Reaper scoffed as his student nursed her arm. “I was beginning to think I’d send you to the hospital.”

“I hope you enjoyed that.” Widowmaker spat. “That would make for one of us.”

Reaper chuckled cruelly. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m just getting started.”

 

The next few weeks continued to focus on resisting bloodbending. Widowmaker learned there was no easy way out of bloodbending—you must be just as aggressive as your opponent. When you are pushed, you must push back twice as hard. Soon, she was able to resist Reaper’s bloodbending entirely, as evident when he tried to force her to sit down at the beginning of a lesson. He felt her muscles twitch under his bending, and before he could punish her resistance, a sudden shock pushed him out.

“I see you’ve improved,” Reaper plainly stated.

Widowmaker smirked, taking it as a compliment. “Now, will you stop wasting our time and teach me bloodbending?”

“If you insist.”

He scanned the tundra, searching for a suitable target. Reaper pointed at a sleeping tiger seal on the cold beach. “Bloodbend _that_. Make it bend to your will,” he ordered. Without hesitation, Widowmaker focused on the creature. She raised her hands, feeling her fingers clench in their gloves, and forced the animal to move sideways.

“Great job,” Reaper began. “if you actually _did_ anything.” Widowmaker opened her eyes. The tiger seal was still lounging on the sand. Crossing her arms, Widowmaker stomped on the ground. The snow on the ground flew up in the air. “I did everything that you taught me—why isn’t it working?!”

“Stop your whining. Look up, and tell me what you see.” Reaper said. Opening her eyes, she looked at the night sky.

“What about it?” she hissed.

“The moon, Widowmaker. It’s barely full.”

Immediately upon seeing it, Widowmaker scorned at Reaper. “Then _why_ would you ask me to bloodblend when it’s not even a full moon?! You might as well teach me firebending while you’re at it.”

“ _Enough_ .” Reaper barked. “That’s not the point. You aren’t patient, and you refuse to analyze your surroundings to ensure that _you_ have the advantage.” He faced his student directly.

“You have to learn to crawl before you can walk. In other words, you have to rely on the full moon before you are able to bloodblend without it.”

Widowmaker was practically fuming at this point. However, she would never let Reaper have the satisfaction of her frustration.

“Fine.” She finally said, composing herself. “I suppose we’ll have to wait until tomorrow for your lessons to start being _useful_.”

Reaper shook his head. “You are mistaken, Widowmaker. My lessons are the most useful you will _ever_ have.”

 

Finally a full moon, Widowmaker shifted around in the snow. _Where_ is _he?_ , she thought as she picked at her coat’s fur lining. “Here.” Reaper announced, as if he read her thoughts. Widowmaker nearly flinched at her teacher’s sudden appearance.

“About time.” She huffed. “It’s freezing out here.”

“Glad to see you can still feel.” Reaper commented.

Widowmaker glared at him. “Just get on with the lesson.”

 _There’s that impatience again_ , Reaper thought. “Do you feel the moon’s power?” He asked.

“Of course, I do.” She scoffed. “I know you haven’t forgotten that I’m a waterbender, as well.”

“No. You don’t get it—take it in and bask in the moon’s light.”

She glanced at the shining moon, examining its round shape and its uneven surface. “There is no substitute for a full moon--even the weakest of waterbenders can feel its power.” Reaper stated. “A master bloodbender under a full moon, however, is nearly invincible.” To demonstrate, he turned his attention to a trio of arctic wolves. Without any trouble, Reaper took control of the animals’ movements. He lifted them up, moved them sideways, and made them prance about. Widowmaker heard the wolves’ whimper under Reaper’s grip. She almost felt sorry for them.

 

Almost.

 

Reaper eventually released his hold on the wolves. The animals started to run away from them. “Now,” he said as he turned towards Widowmaker. “stop them.” Nodding, she readied her stance and raised her arms. She imagined the water inside of the wolves’ bodies, free and uncontrolled. Before they could get too far, the wolves suddenly stopped in their tracks. As she swerved her arms, the wolves were forced to follow their puppeteer’s movements.

“Good.” Reaper praised. “You might actually be decent at this.”

Setting her arms down, Widowmaker let go of the animals. This time, they scattered into the darkness of the tundra. Frowning, she turned to her teacher.

“I hope you’ll give me more suitable targets than these dogs.” She muttered.

“Oh, don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of animals for you to bend to your will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I can't believe how fast this series has grown in such a short amount of time. As always, I would greatly appreciate any comments or constructive criticisms below.


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